SkillsTech

TAFE Queensland SkillsTech is the largest public provider of trade and technician training in Australia in the Automotive, Building and Construction, Electrical and Electronics, Process Control and Instrumentation, Manufacturing, Engineering, Telecoms, CSG/LNG, HDPE and sustainable technologies industries. RTO No. 0275 CRICOS No. 03020E

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Monday, 24 July 2017

Instrument Planned Maintenance

Today’s modern instruments are incredibly sophisticated and accurate.
Yet, even with inbuilt computer based systems the instrument planned
maintenance should never be overlooked.

The objective of this article is too service each component of a system
according to its needs, general physical state, and that operational efficiency
is maintained. The system as a whole should in theory, never break down. The
exceptions of course are incidents outside normal operational conditions, for
example - lightning strikes, flooding, and or mechanical damage, or the system
or components are approaching their end of operational life span.

Determination of the frequency and level of planned maintenance is based
on several factors.

These are:

the known track records of the device in normal
conditions

the severity of ambient conditions

the severity of the service

special problems concomitant with the service such
as:

periodic blockages

seal failures

vibration issues

immersion.

An instrument which is housed in a weather proof enclosure, on a
non-aggressive surface which has a good reliability record, will need a
calibration check every 3 months to at the very least, once a year. The same
instrument in a severe environment on an aggressive surface could require a
weekly service, monthly calibration and in general have a complete overhaul
every six months.

Further factors to be taken into account include the operational
importance of the instrument, the ease of access to the instrument and the operational
implications of downtime of the instrument. An important overhauling factor is
the financial feasibility. If it cost more to repair than what a new unit
is worth, it would pay to scrap the old one for spares and buy a new one.

Having determined all the required information, a schedule can then be
constructed, after listing all the relevant data.

Typical data to be gathered:

1.list all components to be scheduled for maintenance

2.determine the period between servicing and the
level of servicing for each

3.if there are instruments which can be used in
multiple locations, note the type range and configuration for each installation

4.list spares needed for each level of servicing and
any equipment required. Note: the equipment required for servicing should be
deemed a workshop standard and have a higher accuracy that the instrument being
serviced.